Lord of the Flies Essay

Submitted By troyf15
Words: 524
Pages: 3

Zachery Fortson
Mr. Scholar
9th Literature
8, August 2013
Lord of the Flies

Lord of the Flies overall theme portrays survival from a civilization vs. savagery point of view. Kids are being flown from England to a different country so that they aren’t near the war On their way there the kids plane went under attack and crashed on an island. It was on the island that changed the course of the stable life they once knew. Before, they had a normal life with normal everyday conditions and now they were forced to survive in conditions they had no clue even could exist for them. Once on the island the boys decided on two leaders. There was Ralph who everyone looked up to at first. The kids took a vote and Ralph won so he was the “leader” of the kids, the one chosen as the rule follower. Then there was Jack, who was assigned by Ralph to be the head of the hunters “the older kids”. However, the leadership that was peacefully established soon fell apart. The struggle between civilization, Ralph, and savagery, Jack, emerged quickly and viciously. Jack wanted complete power over everyone which made the kids even more scared because they didn’t have a stable structured environment. Two major symbols which reflected each boy was a conch shell, Ralph, and The Lord of the flies, Jack. The conch shell symbolizes elected authority and power, which Jack declared meaningless and which showed the decline in civilization. The Lord of the flies represented the Beast inside Jack and dominance of savagery on the island, ultimately wanting complete power over everyone. The Lord of the flies also represents the unification of the boys under Jacks impulsiveness. This was ultimately established when the boys killed Piggy. Many of the problems on the island, especially the murder of Piggy, stem from the boys and their selfish desires and wants versus what the right thing